Thursday, March 30, 2006

-- The Toyger is a designer cat. It is designed and bred with the demands of modern apartment life as a human companion foremost in mind. Glittered, pelted, dramatic pattern appeals to both the high-tech glamour and nature-loving, wild dreams of city-caught people while the laid back, easily trained character of these cats make them a joy to live with.

The Toyger is a breed in development. Recognized by TICA for Registration early in the 1990's and lovely even now, the goals for the breed are long term and the prospect even more exciting! Several of the features proposed have never before been recognized as possible in a domestic cat. Progress is slow but steady in all areas from companionability to appearance

1. Got my new mobile phone2. Had it nearly a week now without scratching it!3. Zara won our own personal lottery bonus ball game..damnit4. Stil raving about Ubuntu on my laptop5. Pretty much got it working perfectly..and it`s soooo much quicker then windows6. Pissed off with work yet again7. And having to fix other peoples computers8. Made my mum a Mothers Day card9. With a lot of help from Zara10.Gone podcast mad and gone and d/loaded a ton of new ones11.Only 2 days left of my SkypeIn number12.SO here it is...go leave me messages (44) 0121 288 6682 13.If I get lots of messages I may extend my subsription

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

I watched a program about this little girl a few weeks ago and wondered how things had gone after the operation. Read this today

--Manar Maged who survived an earlier operation to remove a parasitic twin died Saturday after infection in her brain. Maner was only 10 months old when Egyptian doctors, in a marathon 13 hour operation in February 2005, managed to separate the parasitic twin. The "twin" could do little more but blink and smile.Manar Maged case has been diagnosed as Craniopagus Parasiticus, an extremely rare condition where the embryo splits to form a twin but fails to develop separately and is attached to the head of the "normal" embryo. There have been other known cases, such as girl in the Dominican Republic, born in 2003, who did not survive the delicate and dangerous operation to remove the parasitic twin. As well, The Royal College of Surgeons in London displays the skull of the "Two headed boy of Bengal" who was born in 1783 but died in 1787 from a Cobra bite.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Oh my God. We only put the clocks an hour forward and I feel like i`m in a different time zone.

Wasn`t fun getting up and what felt like 6:30 this morning.

Still, it felt like Spring today, so i felt like doing even less work than usual. I guess I should first apologise for yesterdays video clip. Really should have put a warning on there before people clicked play. Hmm, maybe i`m less shockable than others.

Well Monday morning, and the boss was back from his holidays. He must have wondered why he bothered. What with the finances in ruins, the boss`s son looking to get a job elsewhere and fitters going home sick.

I managed to keep out his way so my Monday went quite smoothly. So no ranting, moaning, complaining or swearing from me. Which means this post will be quite dull and completely free or ire.

And I was a good little son yesterday. In a fit of Blue Peter style creativity. And, well, because Zara said I should; I made, with my own bare hands a Mothers Day card. Which she received with a big smile on her face. Although I think the big tin of biscuits we got her helped. My mum must have the sweetest tooth in the world, which makes buying presents reasonably easy.

Well, i`m out the bath. My aches n pains washed away. Time for food now before I fall asleep.

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that no mention was made of Zara`s involvement in the making of the card. I would like to make it clear that the card would not have been half as good without her guiding hand. Or glue gun.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Got a lovely phone call from T-Mobile saying i`m eligible for an upgrade. And as my Nokia 6610i is in a bad way.

Damn those cheap Chinese covers.

Well. It didn`t take much convinving on the part of the salesperson that what I need is a new phone.

So now i`m going to be awake all night with excitement waiting for it to be delivered tomorrow.

Like I said. I`m a sad case.

It`s been a long week at work so it`s nice to look forward to something. That`s my excuse anyway.

The boss it back next week. Oh happy happy joy joy. We worked with the factory costings a bit more and it turns out we`re not quite up shit creak yet. It`s still a bit worrying though. Looks like my one man leading department (consisting of yours truly) is the only one making any money when it comes to double glazed units.

Yay me!

To be honest if he ditched a couple of the slackers in there then things would improve no end. I`m starting to lose the inclination to really care. Why should I? nobody else seems to.

I don`t want to be like that. I ended up hating the last place I worked. Doing the same kind of work!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

1. Worrying about getting old(er).2. Nearly forgot to do a Thursday Thirteen.3. It`s still Thursday so it still counts!4. Got Ubuntu working...yay.5. Then broke it again.6. Shocked at how bad Michael J Fox`s parkinsons disease has got.7. Getting sick of the idiots I have to work with.8. Especially the boss.9. Helped work out the expenses at work in out department.10.Starting to thing of looking for another job.11.Gave blood today.12.Struggling to think of what else i`ve done this week.13.And trying to finish this before Thursday is over!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

--A woman using the Firefox web browser discovered her fiancé’s secret life by accident. Here’s a detailed account of what happened, and instructions on how to reproduce the “bug.” (from Bugzilla)

This privacy flaw has caused my fiancé and I to break-up after having dated for 5 years.

Basically, we share one computer but under separate Windows XP user accounts. We both use Mozilla Firefox — well, he used to use it more than I do but now we don’t really use it. The privacy flaw is this: when he went to log-in under his dating sites (jdate.com, swinglifestyle.com, adultfriendfinder.com, etc.), Mozilla promptly asks whether or not he’d like Firefox to save the passwords for him. He chose never, obviously. However, when he logged off his user account, and I logged onto my Windows XP account X amount of days later, I decided to use Firefox because hey — it loaded everything much more efficiently, was better to work on with website designs and is a lot more stable than IE7beta2.

Firefox prompted whether or not I’d like it to save my password for logging into my website. I chose never and changed my mind. I went into the Password Manager to change the saved password option from Never to Always and that’s when I saw all these other sites that had been selected as “Never Save Password.” Of course, those were sites I had never visited or could ever dream of visiting.

Then I realized who, how and what… and sh*t hit the fan. Your browser does not efficiently respect the privacy of different users for one system.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create 2 unique user accounts (for steps sake, let’s call the two accounts Joe and Mary) in Windows XP Home. 2. Logout and sign-in under Joe. 3. Open Firefox and go to an e-mail site or to jdate.com or wherever. 4. Attempt to log-in to the site so that Firefox will ask whether or not you want your password saved. 5. Choose not to save the password. 6. After successfully logging in and having selected the “never save password” option, logout. 7. Log-in as Mary and open Firefox. 8. Browse, browse, browse… but you don’t really have to. Just go to “View Saved Passwords,” click on the tab that will show you sites to never save passwords for, and you’ll see whatever painful site Joe denied to save a password for. 9. Break-up with fiancé.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I had this sudden urge to post something. The trouble is I have nothing to say really. Just this overwhelming need to type.

Of course it could just be because it gives me an excuse to use Ubuntu on my laptop. Have I mentioned I got Linux running on my laptop ;) I`ve even got Firefox 1.5 installed and running nicely. Of course I didn`t have a clue what I was doing. Thank God for wiki`s.

Ok, ok....no more Linux talk. Else i`ll in danger of having to add my blog to the Tech catagory!

Well, I would be if I knew what the hell I was doing half the time.

So i`m sprawled out on the settee watching The Games on C4. I`m in awe of Peter Duncan. At 51 he`s competing with lads half his age. And doing well as well.

But I bet he couldn`t get Linux to install. Ok, ok, I know. I`m the only one who cares.

Maybe i`m hitting a mid life crisis. Although I haven`t got the urge to buy a big harley and go round in leather all the time.

I was looking at my hands the other day; and they are starting to look old. I guess 15 years working with glass hasn`t helped. I blame my parents. If they stopped getting old then so would I.

It was my mum`s birthday at the weekend. It`ll be the big six oh next year. Sorry mum if you`re reading this. My dad is heading towards 70. 70! thats grandparent age. Not parent.

I think i`m scared. Scared of my parents growing old. My parents are still young in my mind. I find myself running through in my mind when I get the call that my dad is ill...or worse.

How i`m going to cope. How i`m going to react. Being there for my mum.

I`ve done this since after my brother was killed. I remember getting the phone call about his death like it was yesterday. It`s so clear in my mind.

I guess i`m preparing. I know it`ll happen one day.

I`m not obsessing over it or anything. Just every so often it hits me. So maybe it`s just me.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Well hopefully this post will be a little more interesting. Full of interesting facts that you will find mildly interesting.

This post is dedicated to Celena who found my last post less than....interesting.

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"

3. Almonds are members of the peach family.

4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.

5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural:pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.

12. The longest place-name still in use isTaumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.

13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.

14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

15. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

16. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.

17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.

18. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

19. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.

21. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

23. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

24. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

27. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

28. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.

30. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti

31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

33. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

34. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

35. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

37. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

39. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

1. Scratched the crap out my mobile phone cover2. Looked for a decent one on Ebay that isn`t being shipped from Hong Kong...no luck.3. Drove 180miles to Oxford and pretty much ate crisps/biscuits all the way4. Altho nearly died eating Zara`s sis`s macaronni cheese5. Watched King Arthur and wished I was at home to play Rome:Total War6. Played continuously with the cats!7. Unintentionally showed my bum off to Zara`s sis. According to Zara.8. Still went bright red; despite the fact I`ve placed my posterior on the Internet9. Actually WALKED to go for a meal.10.Had to swerve to avoid looney Oxford drivers trying to take my front end off.11.And brake for looney Oxford cyclists stealing bikes and nose diving into the road!12.Got slightly stressed in IKEA13.And survived an MOT without having to pay £300+

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Thursday, March 09, 2006

1. Finished cutting all the tiles for the bathroom, woo!2. Plasterboarded the bathroom walls ready for wallpapering3. Animal cruelty at the top of my hate list. Yet again4. Closely followed by the Chinese.5. Racked my brains as to a theme for my mum`s birthday cake.6. Sorry honey, still can`t think of anything.7. My eye finally feels normal again after getting a bit of plaster in it from cutting tiles.8. Drove to Mansfield and back. In the pouring rain.9. Rain, rain, rain. Feels like ever day so far.10.Burnt myself today sealing units for the first time this week! A record!11.Counting down the hours until the boss is on holiday12.Signed up to a ton more web2.0 sites.13.Am 14% through playing Gran Turismo 4..woo, again.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Going to attempt to get through this post rant free. Gemmak got more of a response from my post that I did! Fortunately it was from like minded people.

I was kind of sad noticing how many visitors I had since posting the article and how little response I got, both on here and on newsvine. Looks like apathy is alive and well on the blogosphere. Urgh, I do hate that word. But thank you to Gemmak for voting for me.

Well someone else seeded the article from a different site and it looks like it`s heading towards the frontpage. And is getting a lot of feedback.

So onto other things.

Well, i`m tired. Not as tired as last night. But that`s mainly because I haven`t had to drive to Mansfield and back to pick up a damn window frame. Yeah, we`re so organised I could just cry...phhft!

Still the boss and his royal wife are on the first of there 4 holidays they`ll take this year next week so at least the place will run a bit smoother.

No, I don`t know if I like it there either but it was something new I could sign up for and clog my blog up with. Just click on a word that sounds interesting and it`ll show you all the posts where I used that word! Clever stuff.

Although I must apologise to Celena whose name is unfortunately next to the word bitch!...the 2 words are totally unconnected ;)

And finally...stay away from Galaxy Promises. Eating a full bar of the stuff makes your tum a bit queezy.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Ok, this post will probably be upsetting. So if you`re easily shocked then don`t read anymore!

Just had to blog this as I feel completely sickened by it. It`ll probably do no good, but if the picture and story is spread then maybe someone will catch this bitch.

Anyway. Have a good long look at this woman.

She looks kinda normal right? Well she gets her kicks by doing crush videos. This story is already causing outrage on the internet. The full story can be read here. But I wouldn`t recommend it. It`s the most disgusting thing i`ve ever seen. Yes there are pictures.

The first paragraph reads:

A series of images and videos of a Chinese woman killing animals by crushing them with stiletto heels has drawn outrage on the internet. The images and videos of the woman killing kittens, puppies, rabbits and toads began to surface last week on numerous internet sites. Since then, a number of Chinese media outlets and amateur sleuths have been on the hunt for the mystery woman some have dubbed, "The Kitten Killer of Hangzhou”.

Women, learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

Birthdays, Valentines, and Anniversaries are not considered by us to be opportunities to see if we can find the perfect present . . . . again!

Sometimes we are not thinking about you. Live with it.

Sunday = sports. It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

Don’t cut your hair. Ever. Long hair is always more attractive than short hair. One of the big reasons guys fear getting married is that married women always cut their hair, and by then you’re stuck with her.

Ask for what you want. Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

We don’t remember dates. . . .Period!!

Most guys own three pairs of shoes - tops. What makes you think we’d be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress?

Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

If you won’t dress like the Victoria’s Secret girls, don’t expect us to act like soap opera guys.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Ok, couldn`t think of a suitable title so thought i`d comment on how long it`s taking to copy 100Mb over from my main pc to my laptop via wireless. Only 3 minutes to go now...sigh.

So how was Paddy`s day going I hear you ask. Or maybe you don`t ask but I`m gonna tell you anyway.

It started well. It started very well. Although I shan`t go into that as Zara will get embarrassed, and then violent!

Ooh, 25 secs to go until I can watch MacBreak.

Anyway. We had snow last night. A lot of snow. Most of which melted today. But just left enough for Garfield to go mental in and try and eat.

Shopping was done. Parent visiting was done.

Then we watched Crash. Wow. What a film. I felt so drained after watching it. I actually didn`t want it to end, I could have watched another hour or so of it. I feel I should wax deep n meaningful over it but i`m tired. And slightly grumpy as I managed to put myself in the doghouse with Zara over where I hung some towels.

One day i`ll manage to go 24 hours without managing to piss her off or upset her in some way. But maybe due to the fact i`m male that that`s an impossibility.

So i`m laid here...yes it`s a bath moment again. First since Thursday night due to much tiling drama on Friday night. I`ve got my videocasts on my laptop and a nice hot bath and a glass of Glenfiddich so I`m a happy bunny.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!